First, one must read the article written by Elliot Spitzer JUST before he was taken down by the powers that be. This article details how the Bush administration opened the doors for the mortgage industry to get into this crisis, knowing all along they could pilfer the taxpayers in the end to soak up any losses.Eliot Spitzer Feb 2008 article
Second, we must realize that this whole affair is simply a corporate restructuring. What corporation? The corporation that OWNS the Federal Reserve (it is NOT a US government agency or division). The Federal Reserve is owned by the wealthiest banks in the world, who also in turn own the largest insurance companies in the world, and so much more. Like in 1929, they are set to, and will execute, the US economy if they don't get their way. Haven't you heard the threats already? Think it's not true? What caused the great depression? A run on banks and the stock markets? But what caused that? What happened was the largest banks in the world called in all loans they could on Oct 29, 1929. As all callable loans had to be paid immediately, everyone and their brother had to sell stock, bonds and get their money from the banks to pay these loans, that were all being called in unreasonably on this day. And what did the Fed do? Nothing. It is/was the same people. These are the same people who brought us federal income tax, in the same act that formed the third incarnation of the Fed!Why would the Fed do this? Because for the third time in US history, a president (this time Herbert Hoover) was threatening to end the Federal Reserve. Andrew Jackson once said, when asked what was his greatest accomplishment in his two terms as President, "I killed the Bank." (referring to the second incarnation of the Federal Reserve). Under the US Constitution, only the treasury is allowed to print our money, and although they still print our coins, the Fed is who really controls the US currency, and remember, they are a PRIVATE corporation, whom you will be told no specifics about."Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money.”Sir Josiah Stamp - Director of the Bank of England (appointed 1928)Reputed to be the 2nd wealthiest man in England at that time. So once you have looked at these facts, especially the article by and the efforts of Mr. Spitzer, you can see what this is really all about.Hope this helps some to understand. The Biggest Robbery of the History of our Country.
This bailout's mission is to protect the obscene amount of wealth that has been accumulated in the last eight years. It's to protect the top shareholders who own and control corporate America. It's to make sure their yachts and mansions and "way of life" go uninterrupted while the rest of America suffers and struggles to pay the bills. Let the rich suffer for once. Let them pay for the bailout. We are spending 400 million dollars a day on the war in Iraq. Let them end the war immediately and save us all another half-trillion dollars. It has everything to do with it. This so-called "collapse" was triggered by the massive defaulting and foreclosures going on with people's home mortgages. Do you know why so many Americans are losing their homes? To hear the Republicans describe it, it's because too many working class idiots were given mortgages that they really couldn't afford. Here's the truth: The number one cause of people declaring bankruptcy is because of medical bills, Medical Bills; unemployment, increase in gas, food, increase on taxes to paid outrageous Government salaries.
And yet, they are screeching about how the end is near! Panic! Recession! The Great Depression! Y2K! Bird flu! Invasion of Undocumented Immigrants! Killer bees! Salmonella, We must pass the bailout bill today!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!!!!!!!.
Falling for whom? NOTHING in this "bailout" package will lower the price of the gas, the price of food, the Interest rate, you have to put in your car to get to work. NOTHING in this bill will protect you from losing your home. NOTHING in this bill will give you health insurance.
If Ephesians says to Imitate Christ. Why do you look so much like the World? Cause Jesus He spent his time with thieves and Liars He loved the poor and accosted the Arrogant So which one do you want to be?
U.S. immigration authorities said Monday they arrested more than 1,150 people in California in a three-week sweep, the state's largest of its type since 2003.
The sweep targeted immigration violators including those who have ignored deportation orders or returned to the U.S. illegally after being deported.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice said it was the largest such action by fugitive enforcement teams in California since the squads were formed in 2003.
Kice said of the 1,157 immigrants arrested statewide, 595 had outstanding deportation orders and 346 had prior criminal convictions. Those arrested were from 34 countries, she said.
The raids, which ended Saturday, produced 436 arrests in the San Francisco area, 420 in the Los Angeles area and 301 in the San Diego area.
In recent years, immigration officials have increased enforcement at factories, offices and homes. One of its major pushes has been to target illegal immigrants who have flouted deportation orders.
As the Dow continues to plummet (down over 778 points at this point) due to the failure of the bailout bill, The Failure of the Banking Industry, I find myself wondering what this will mean for the people of America?. Investors game or trade game?.
While I don't own stocks myself, a plummet like this will affect me (and you) very soon. Add in the takeover of another bank (Wachovia, after the failure of Washington Mutual) and we all need to start looking at what this will do to our lifestyles.
Things are different now than in the 20's and 30's or either 80's or 90's. Very little is owned by people. Almost everything is owned by corporations. If you rent an apartment or house, a person may let you slide a bit on back rent. If a corporation owns it, no sliding will be possible. Many of us don't have the option to move in with parents or other family members, as they have the same problems.
Gas prices may be going down at this moment, Food prices continue high, And we are heading for a depression - that downward trend won't matter. If you don't have the cash to pay it, you don't have the cash.
Instead, I want to get the conversation going. What does today financial news mean to you and your family? and who's continuing playing the profitable stock game? The smaller is the stock price the most money the investor will make. Again the Richer get more Richer$$$$ and the poor get more poorer.
Sen. Joe Biden, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's incoming chairman, and running know for Vice President wants to get tough with Mexico, calling it an "erstwhile democracy" with a "corrupt system" responsible for illegal immigration and drug problems in the U.S.
Biden, D-Del., was in Columbia months ago in his first post election trip to this first-in-the-South presidential primary state. During a question-and-answer session before more than 230 Columbia Rotary Club members, Biden was asked about immigration problems.
Biden, who favors tightening the U.S.-Mexico border with fences, said immigration is driven by money in low-wage Mexico. On my opinion I will said driven by the unscrupulous NAFTA trade agreement who put Millions of Mexicans away from their Jobs, Their Lands, Their Families and their Country.
"Mexico is a country that is an erstwhile democracy where they have the greatest disparity of wealth," Biden said. "It is one of the wealthiest countries in the hemisphere and because of a corrupt system that exists in Mexico, there is the 1 percent of the population at the top, a very small middle class and the rest is abject poverty."
Unless the political dynamics change in Mexico and U.S. employers who hire illegal immigrants are punished, illegal immigration won't stop. "All the rest is window dressing," he said.
An even bigger problem are illegal drugs "coming up through corrupt Mexico," he said. "People are driving across that border with tons, tons — hear me — tons of everything from byproducts for methamphetamine, to cocaine, to heroine."I hear you clearly and loud Mr. Biden but seems to me like you listen to the dubious and Anti Immigrant Lou Dobbs at CNN where there is no other point of Entry of Drugs, of people; Shame on you Mr. Biden....There had been found many indoors marijuana plants farms within the States, many Labs producing methamphetamine and other drugs and for that source I shouldn't use Lou Dobbbs either CNN. You should check FBI website.
Covering a variety of topics, Biden kept most of the crowd in their seats for an hour — twice as long as scheduled. "I warn all of you, all of you making more than a million bucks — I hope you all are — I'm taking away your tax cut," Biden said. "I'm not joking." Sounds like Barack Obama will need to have a debate with Joe Biden, in addition to John McCain.
The Implicators on the Financial crisis putting me on the street against the wall. We should bring some justice and accountability for this mess?. As always said the current Government fiscal policies has been failed again. The Government knew about this issue years ago and they failed to act on behalf's on the Fundamental and Ethicals values for American Citizens following their stand on Denial Stage. Who really miss estimate the compassion, the Fundamental Values as Americans, Compassion, Ethics,
Central Banks Responsibility:
Functions of a central bank (not all functions are carried out by all banks):
Implementation of monetary policy controls the nation's entire money supply( Which they are not such control in printing money) The Government's banker and the bankers' bank ("Lender of Last Resort") manages the country's foreign exchange and gold reserves and the Government's stock register; Regulation and supervision of the banking industry: They were Sleeping all this time. Setting the official interest rate - used to manage both inflation and the country's exchange rate - and ensuring that this rate takes effect via a variety of policy mechanisms and acting as a "bailout" lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of financial crisis (private banks often being integral to the national financial system). It may also have supervisory powers, to ensure that banks and other financial institutions do not behave recklessly or fraudulently. Acting too late The primary motivation for creating the Federal Reserve System was to address banking panics. Other purposes are stated in the Federal Reserve Act, such as "to furnish an elastic currency, to afford means of rediscounting commercial paper, to establish a more effective supervision of banking in the United States, and for other purposes." Before the founding of the Federal Reserve, the United States underwent several financial crises. A particularly severe crisis in 1907 led Congress to enact the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. Today the Fed has broader responsibilities than only ensuring the stability of the financial system.
Federal Reserve Current System functions and responsibilities: Be blind to a Nation crisis . To address the problem of banking panics To serve as the central bank for the United States To strike a balance between private interests of banks and the centralized responsibility of government To supervise and regulate banking institutions To protect the credit rights of consumers To manage the nation's money supply through monetary policy to achieve the sometimes conflicting goals of maximum employment stable prices moderate long-term interest rates To maintain the stability of the financial system and contain systemic risk in financial markets To provide financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions, including playing a major role in operating the nation’s payments system To facilitate the exchange of payments among regions To respond to local liquidity needs To strengthen U.S. standing in the world economy
A North Dartmouth woman was sentenced today in federal court after being convicted on charges of paying out more than $40 million in cash wages through their temporary employment agency in order to evade millions of dollars in tax payments and workers compensation insurance premiums.
United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Tyrone G. Barney, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation - Boston Field Office; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Office; and Anthony DiPaolo, Chief of Investigations for the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts, announced that AIMEE KING MCELROYof North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 78 months imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. In addition, KING MCELROY was ordered to pay $9,103,335 million dollars in restitution.
In February 2008, KING MCELROY and her husband, DANIEL W. MCELROY, were convicted, following a 2 ½ week jury trial, of conspiring to defraud the IRS and their workers compensation insurers, three counts of mail fraud, and fourteen counts of procuring false payroll tax returns. DANIEL W. MCELROY was previously sentenced to 108 months imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years supervised release and the same restitution.
It was revealed at trial that from the early-1990's to June 2001, the MCELROYS operated a temporary employment agency, which was based in Taunton and later in Easton, Massachusetts, that did business under the names the Dan Agency, the Daily Agency, Daily A. King Labor, Inc., Pro Temp. Company, PTC and Precission (sic) Temp. Corp. To avoid paying employment taxes, such as Social Security and Medicare, and to fraudulently reduce the businesses’ insurance premiums for workers compensation insurance, the defendants arranged to pay a large share of the businesses’ payroll in cash. In excess of $43 million in unreported cash was paid out to employees as a result of the scheme. This represents the largest under-the-table payroll scheme ever prosecuted in Massachusetts. The hidden payroll resulted in a loss of approximately $10 million to the IRS and approximately $7 million to workers compensation insurance companies.
The agencies provided hundreds of laborers to factories and food processing business throughout Eastern Massachusetts, especially in fish processing plants on the New Bedford waterfront, where roughly a third of their employees worked. Like every other employer, the defendants were required to pay payroll (or FICA) taxes on their payroll, and to obtain workers compensation insurance. The amounts a business pays in payroll taxes and workers compensation insurance premiums are based largely on the size of its payroll.
The defendants were subject to a court order issued by The Honorable Rya Zobel in 1994 that forbade them and their agency from paying cash to their employees. The judgment was a result of a civil action brought by the United States Department of Labor. Judge Zobel’s Order prompted the defendants to take additional measures to conceal their payroll. Most of all, they established a straw corporation called ProTemp Co. through which they funneled most of their cash payroll. Later, they opened another straw corporation called Precission (sic) Temp, Co. for the same purpose.
Although nominally separate, Daily A. King, ProTemp and Precission Temp were run as a single business. To disguise their ownership and control of the ProTemp and Precission Temp, the defendants installed two of their employees, Dich Trieu and Xieu Van Son, as the nominal presidents of the two companies. The defendants also veiled their control of the two companies by directing their in-house accountant, Charles Wallace, to file false tax returns in the names of the three businesses that omitted the company’s cash payroll. To mislead their insurance auditors, Wallace, at the defendant’s direction, fabricated payroll records that reflected a smaller payroll than even that reported in the false tax returns filed.
KING MCELROY was ordered to self-report to the Bureau of Prisons on December 2, 2008.
That's sounds familiar to you. Well check this out. Buchanan County Auditor Susan Montee’s failure to audit the county administrator under investigation for embezzling $4 million in Social Security payments raises serious questions about whether Montee intentionally ignored the situation because of her political and personal relationship with the administrator.
The Associated Press reports that state investigators are questioning Bonnie Sue Lawson in connection with the missing Social Security checks dating back to at least 2005 when complaints were first made to the state Department of Health and Senior Services. Montee, who has the authority to conduct an audit of the state administrator’s office, has received hundreds of dollars in political contributions from friend Lawson.
“The political and personal relationship between Susan Montee and Bonnie Sue Lawson raises serious questions about how millions of dollars in essential payments to elderly Buchanan County residents disappeared right under Montee’s nose,” said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party. “Susan Montee must come clean about her relationship with Bonnie Sue Lawson and the role it played in her failure as county auditor. This situation also raises serious issues about Montee’s competency and integrity as a candidate for state auditor.”
State investigators and St. Joseph police have seized computer equipment and other documents from Lawson’s office in a case that potentially affects hundreds of clients. Montee’s failure to monitor the activities of the county administrator is serious since administrators often serve as guardians, conservators, personal representatives and representative payees for certain citizens including minors, the mentally incompetent and the disabled.
“Susan Montee failed to keep an eye on an individual who is entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the finances for some of our state’s most vulnerable citizens,” Sloca said. “One has to wonder whether her personal and political relationship was more important to her than the citizens of Buchanan County. Know John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Buchanan County, Mo., official pleaded guilty in federal court today to embezzling $118,000 from Social Security payments intended for dependent or disabled clients served by her office. Bonnie Sue Lawson, 68, of St. Joseph, Mo., waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner this afternoon to a federal information that charges her with stealing public money. “This former elected official abused the public’s trust and stole public money that was intended to assist the vulnerable clients who were dependent upon her,” Wood said. Lawson served as Buchanan County Public Administrator from her election in 1996 until her resignation in August 2006. As Public Administrator, Lawson was appointed as the guardian for mentally impaired or developmentally disabled adults in instances where these adults had no one else who was willing to act on their behalf. Some of the clients under Lawson’s care received Social Security Administration benefits on a monthly basis. Lawson, who was appointed by the Social Security Administration as the representative payee for clients who were identified as either physically or mentally unable to handle their own financial affairs, established separate bank accounts where the Social Security funds were deposited. Lawson maintained control over the accounts. By pleading guilty today, Lawson admitted that, from Sept. 1, 2003, to Aug. 21, 2006, she embezzled funds from these accounts for her own use. Lawson accomplished her embezzlement by generating checks payable to herself under the guise that the proceeds were to pay her fees. The checks or embezzled monies were above and beyond any legitimate payments due to Lawson as representative payee. Lawson then altered the accounting records, maintained electronically, in her Public Administrator’s office in order to conceal her embezzlement. Lawson also concealed her embezzlement by submitting false and fraudulent reports to the Social Security Administration. Approximately 120 separate client accounts were identified by investigators as having been embezzled by Lawson. Investigators also calculated an aggregate loss figure of approximately $118,000 from Lawson’s embezzlement activities. This sum represents Social Security payments intended for the use and care of dependant or disabled clients. Under federal statutes, Lawson is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office. For a video; Click Here:
Phil Gramm (Foreclosure Phil) Who is McCain's economic guru was the King of Deregulation which has destroyed our banking industry. He was going to be McCain's Treausry Secretary until he said the nation's economic woes are "mental"From Mother Jones:Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? There are plenty of culprits, but one candidate for lead perp is former Sen. Phil Gramm. Eight years ago, as part of a decades-long anti-regulatory crusade, Gramm pulled a sly legislative maneuver that greased the way to the multibillion-dollar subprime meltdown. Yet has Gramm been banished from the corridors of power? Reviled as the villain who bankrupted Middle America? Hardly. Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters. He's been mentioned as a possible Treasury secretary should McCain win. That's right: A guy who helped screw up the global financial system could end up in charge of US economic policy. Talk about a market failure.Gramm's long been a handmaiden to Big Finance. In the 1990s, as chairman of the Senate banking committee, he routinely turned down Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Arthur Levitt's requests for more money to police Wall Street; during this period, the sec's workload shot up 80 percent, but its staff grew only 20 percent. Gramm also opposed an sec rule that would have prohibited accounting firms from getting too close to the companies they audited—at one point, according to Levitt's memoir, he warned the sec chairman that if the commission adopted the rule, its funding would be cut. And in 1999, Gramm pushed through a historic banking deregulation bill that decimated Depression-era firewalls between commercial banks, investment banks, insurance companies, and securities firms—setting off a wave of merger mania. Full articlehttp://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/...
Bush Asks Americans to Support Bailout but the real question is. Why President Bush and Congress do not support More than a Million people who lost their dreams, their hard work values: Their House?.Where are those fundamental Values? The American Values? We the People?
In a speech to the nation, President Bush calls on Americans to support the economic recovery plan. Mr. Bush has invited presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, as well as top lawmakers, to the White House for economic crisis.
But More than a million people have lost their homes through foreclosure in the last two years, and many of them are still registered to vote at the address of the home they lost. Now election officials and voting rights groups are struggling to prevent thousands of them from losing their vote when they go to the polls in November.
Many of these voters will be disqualified at the polls because, in the tumult of their foreclosure, they neglected to tell their election board of their new address. Some could be forced to vote with a provisional ballot or challenged by partisan poll watchers, a particular concern among Democrats who fear that poor voters will be singled out. That could add confusion and stretch out lines that are already expected to be long because of unprecedented turnout.
Federal election officials say they are concerned that voters are not being properly informed of how to update their addresses.
“Our biggest concern is that many of these voters will stay home or that poll workers will give misinformation,” said Rosemary E. Rodriguez, the chairwoman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, which oversees voting.
Todd Haupt, a home builder, lost his home in Josephville, Mo., to foreclosure last year, and said he had since become much more interested in politics. But asked whether he had remembered to update his voter registration information when he moved into his parents’ home in St. Charles, Mo., Mr. Haupt, 33, paused silently. “Is that required?” he said. “I had no idea.”
“I’ve moved three times in the past two years,” he added. “Keeping my voter registration information was not top on my mind because I figured it was all set already.”
Ms. Rodriguez said the commission issued a notice this month encouraging voters to update their registration information before the Oct. 6 cutoff date imposed by many states for new voter registrations. She added that the commission considered issuing a notice this month informing local officials how to handle these voters, but in the end decided not to give poll chal-lengers any ideas on new tactics for singling out voters.
Many of the nation’s highest foreclosure rates are also in crucial swing states like Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Ohio. Because many homeowners in foreclosure are black, Hispanic or poor, and are considered probable Democratic voters in many areas, the issue has begun to have political ramifications. Political parties have long challenged voters with expired registrations, but the possible use of foreclosure lists to remove people from the rolls — though entirely legal — has become a new partisan flashpoint.
Last week, Senator Barack Obama’s campaign filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking to prohibit the Michigan Republican Party from using foreclosure lists to single out and challenge voters. The state Republican Party has denied having any such plans.
Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, sent a letter last week along with a dozen other Democratic senators to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey asking him to ensure that voters facing foreclosure are not harassed or intimidated at polling places.
In Ohio, liberal-leaning groups are planning to help people in foreclosure and families who are homeless to vote by using a five- to seven-day window starting Sept. 30 when state residents are permitted to register and cast an early ballot simultaneously. The Republican Party has filed a lawsuit in state court to block registering and voting on the same day, arguing that state law forbids it.
Asked whether his party planned to use foreclosure information to compile challenge lists, Robert Bennett, a spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party, said the party did not discuss its election strategies in public.
Similar questions were raised two years ago over how to deal with more than a million people who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Some of these voters were never found, while others were able to vote with absentee ballots or at satellite locations outside New Orleans.
“Foreclosure victims are distinctly vulnerable because they are not officially recognized as a group needing voting help,” said Robert M. Brandon, president of the Fair Elections Legal Network, a liberal-leaning voting rights group.
Last month, his organization sent letters to the secretaries of state in Arizona, Florida, Missouri and Ohio, asking them to better educate foreclosure victims on their rights. The letters argued that the laws in these states do not bar such voters from voting in their former jurisdictions if their intent is to move back as soon as circumstances allow
On Wednesday, Jennifer L. Brunner, the Ohio secretary of state who is a Democrat, sent out an advisory to all local officials instructing them what to do if anyone who has lost a home to foreclosure shows up at the polls. If the address listed for such voters is no longer valid, and they moved outside the precinct, Ms. Brunner said, poll workers are instructed to send the voter to the polling place that corresponds to the voter’s new address. The voter will then be given a provisional ballot — special ballots that can be counted only after the voter’s eligibility is verified — at the proper polling place, the directive said.
The state requires that election officials send a notice to all registered voters verifying their address 60 days before an election to check the accuracy of the voter rolls. This month, Ms. Brunner ruled that an undeliverable notice will not be grounds enough on its own for a voter to be removed from the registration lists.
So far, election officials in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio have sent out notices to residents in select counties who have filed for a change of address but who have not updated their voter registration.
But the number of people who have moved, through foreclosure or for any other reason, far exceeds the number of people who have notified their election boards. In Ohio, 375,000 people filed change-of-address forms with the Postal Service, but when state officials sent them cards asking for updated registration information, only 24,000 responded. In Missouri, where 250,000 people notified the Postal Service of their move, only 22,000 told the election board.
Robin Carnahan, the Missouri secretary of state, and a Democrat, said that she is trying to get local election officials to increase the number of poll workers to deal with any confusion or challenges of voters.
In 2004, a Republican Party official challenged a large number of voters at a largely black precinct in Boone County, Mo., causing a backup. Such challenges can cause long lines at polling places if there are not enough poll workers to pull challenged voters out of line, or if the workers have to consult with higher-level election officials for each challenge.
State political parties have traditionally used the mail to determine which voters to challenge. By sending out mailings to voters likely to be of the opposite party, and then seeing which mailings are returned as undeliverable, they know whom to challenge at the polls for not living at their registered address. Using public lists of foreclosed homes, however, can save money by allowing a party to avoid sending out mailings.
William Nowling, a spokesman for the Michigan Republican Party, said that Democratic complaints about foreclosure victims being singled out were baseless. “We are not using foreclosure lists in any way,” Mr. Nowling said, accusing Democratic groups of engaging in fear-mongering by spreading rumors of such plans. “Our voter integrity efforts are solely designed to fight voter fraud perpetrated by the Democrats, of which there is ample proof and examples, including previous elections where the F.B.I. had to seize and secure ballots in Detroit because ballot boxes were being stuffed.”
an interesting behind-the-scenes from the Anti Immigrants and their rhetoric and discriminatory arguments as well as FAIR's supporters and what they stand for. Just listen the words they using: Loaded, hauled; even Lou Dobbs instigating fear against Immigrants what it doesn't surprise coming from him.
Who is responsible and accountable for this mess? Thousands of people losing their jobs do to the Housing crisis and the saggy economy affecting all of us as Taxpayers. Just 2 years ago, real-estate agents and mortgage brokers were rolling in cash and living la Vida Loca. Now they've become job seekers and Homeless left high and dry in the housing bust.
In 2006, multiple buyers still lined up to bid on homes, 100% financing was practically a given, and prices kept rising, seemingly without limits.
Fast-forward to the present, when the subprime-mortgage fiasco has led to the demise of many big mortgage lenders and small banks. Thousands of jobs have been lost. Many real-estate agents who thrived during the boom years are now finding it difficult to make ends meet and are leaving the business or looking for additional work to supplement their incomes.
Many who lived the high life are now sucking wind.
"No one ever saw it coming," Nick Vasilakis says.
Vasilakis was forced out of the mortgage business barely four months after he had entered it. A casualty of a 7,000-employee layoff by American Home Mortgage in August 2007, he had been hired as a software quality engineer the previous April. At the time, the company was the 10th-largest mortgage retailer in the U.S. and appeared to be on a roll.
Vasilakis says that employees were "kept in the dark" about problems at American Home and that the company kept hiring even as a complete wipeout approached.
Vasilakis had just bought a house in the area and was preparing for his wedding the following month. It took him four months to find a new job, as a business analyst with Ipreo, a consulting business for investment banks in Manhattan.
More than a year later, the 177,000-square-foot Melville, N.Y., headquarters of American Home remains empty and for sale. The loss of more than 1,600 local employees continues to affect neighborhood businesses (at one point American Home was Long Island's sixth-largest employer). Where these people are going to ending up? being Homeless? American Home Mortgages lays off more than 7,000 employees. When markets boom, jobs get created. When the housing market busts, they tend to go away.
John McCain’s campaign launched a TV ad in Spanish which blamed Barack Obama and the Democrats for the death of comprehensive immigration reform.
Is it true?
Not at all. The ad covers up the fact that it was Republicans who voted down immigration reform, giving into a fired-up, anti-immigrant base. In fact, just this month, John McCain’s own Republican Party unveiled an anti-reform platform on immigration. It went from bad to worse.
Since Senator Obama has been a strong and consistent supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, we can only assume that the Campaign is trying to fool Latino voters and stir up more controversy around the issue.
Tell the McCain Campaign to stop playing politics with immigration.
Sign up to help take the ad down!
We need our leaders to stand up, stand together, and enact common sense immigration reform, not play partisan politics on immigration
The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law held a “Hearing on Problems with ICE Interrogation, Detention, and Removal Procedures.” The hearing featured American citizens caught in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, detention, and deportation.
Witnesses included Marie Justeen Mancha, a U.S. citizen high school student from Georgia who was home alone when armed ICE agents broke into her house one afternoon; Michael Graves who, as a U.S. citizen employee of the Swift Co. meatpacking plant in Marshalltown, Iowa, was one of hundreds of workers detained for hours while riot-gear-wearing ICE agents interrogated them on their citizenship status; Kara Hartzler, an attorney with the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project in Arizona; and others.
In his testimony, Mr. Graves painted a frightening picture of an agency that, all across the country, has been sending heavily-armed agents after people whose “crime” is working without permission:
hundreds of heavily armed ICE agents stormed six meat packing plants across America’s heartland. …regardless of my status, [ICE]’s interrogation, the handcuffs, the guns, and the agents in SWAT uniforms were all incredibly unnecessary and intimidating …I am a U.S. citizen. I was born and raised in this country – in the same state I work and have never been overseas in my life …No one in this country, regardless of their status, should be treated the way we were treated at the Marshalltown Swift plant or any of the Swift plants. Working is not a crime, and workers do not leave their constitutional rights at the plant gate.
At the hearing, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat and chair of the subcommittee remarked that the United States had reached an era “where an overzealous government is interrogating, detaining and deporting its own citizens while treating non-citizens even worse,” according to a Cox News Service story carried in the Austin American Statesman.
The specter of government agents, guns drawn, going after workers on the shop floor, or breaking into homes without a warrant, is not only terrifying, but can only breed more distrust of the government in communities across America. Yet, this sort of behavior is just one symptom of enforcement-without-reform and a deportation-only approach to immigration. There is a desperate need for broader oversight and for sensible immigration reform policies.
Marie Justeen Mancha, an American citizen and high school student from Reidsville, Ga., told lawmakers Wednesday that she was terrified when four federal agents stormed into her house, screaming, "Police! Illegals!"
A House panel was examining similar incidents in which U.S. citizens were questioned, detained or deported in raids over the past year. "My heart just dropped," Mancha said. "When the tall man reached for his gun, I just stood there feeling so scared. I could've busted out in tears, but I had to be strong and hold it in."
Mancha, who was 15 years old at the time and alone in her home, testified before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law, about the incident, which occurred in conjunction with a September 2006 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at a poultry plant in nearby Stillmore, Ga. "I carry that fear with me every day, wondering when they'll come back," she said, in a heavy Southern accent.
Gary Mead, assistant director for detention and removal at ICE, told the panel that his agency has "never knowingly or intentionally detained or removed a U.S. citizen." In the "highly unlikely" event that an ICE officer determines that a U.S. citizen has been mistakenly deported, ICE takes appropriate action to locate the citizen and ensure immediate repatriation to the United States at no expense to the person, he said.
In the past four years, ICE has detained more than 1 million people and deported only one U.S. citizen, he said. That person — Peter Guzman — told ICE agents that he was a Mexican citizen, Mead said. Guzman's attorney, James Brosnahan, also testified before the committee. He described his client as "a person of limited mental capacity" and unable to read at more than a second grade level.
"They put him on a bus with $3 ././. and he was a U.S. citizen," Brosnahan said. After being deported to Mexico, Guzman wandered on foot over hundreds of miles for 89 days between Tijuana and Calexico and survived by begging and picking food from garbage, Brosnahan said. Guzman's mother went to the morgues of Tijuana to see if she could find her son, he added.
Brosnahan said Guzman's detention was not an innocent mistake but the consequence of "policies, practices and procedures which rely upon racial and ethnic stereotypes to presuppose undocumented status."
Democrats on the committee grilled Mead about several cases. They said they were angry that he did not know certain facts, such as what percentage of people arrested by ICE in the past year were Hispanic. He could only say that those arrested were "predominantly Hispanic."
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., said he was upset that Mead was unaware of an incident in Chicago where, according to Gutierrez, about 100 Hispanic men of a certain age were detained by ICE agents in a mall. The agents were searching for four men who were allegedly engaged in an identity theft ring, he said.
Mead said that the agency does not detain people based on nationality. "We deport people based on their legal status and their right to be here, not their color," he said. "We do not racially profile."
Mead said that ICE is reviewing its policies and procedures to determine if even greater safeguards can be put in place to prevent the rare instances when U.S. citizens are mistakenly arrested or deported. The review is expected to be completed within the next 60 days.
Rep. Steven King, R-Iowa, ranking member of the committee, objected to the hearing topic, saying that a few isolated instances have been exaggerated and that a problem does not exist with ICE detaining U.S. citizens. He said ICE needs to focus on deporting the "12 to 20 million" illegal immigrants in the United States that should be removed, but are not. The Department of Homeland Security estimates there are 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Mead said he could not comment on Mancha's case, because it is part of current litigation.
Mancha is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against ICE that alleges that federal agents illegally detained, searched and harassed Latinos solely because of their appearance, in violation of their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.
The lawsuit was filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization based in Montgomery, Ala. It alleges that the agents did not limit the raid to the poultry plant in Stillmore, but fanned out across residential areas, stopping motorists, breaking into people's homes, and threatening people with tear gas and guns. The suit was filed in Atlanta in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
The Los Angeles Times published an editorial, in response to the recent state appellate court's decision to proclaim unconstitutional a 2001 law that allows Undocumented immigrants to pay the same college tuition fees as legal residents and U.S. citizens.
The time has arrived to shed light on the invariable challenges and adverse effects a decision like this could possibly have on California's presently strained economy. Denying young talented immigrant students the prospect of an improved financial future, deters our great state from attaining long term financial sustainability. These young people are bright, gifted and eager to advance themselves professionally and become recognized contributors to our state and nation.
We now call out to you to help spread this message; California must continue to produce a strong, skilled and educated work force to help meet future demands. We urge you all to submit a letter to the editor in support of their bold stance made in support of AB 540 students. Please address how a decision like this could have potentially damaging effects on your life personally.
Other ways you can help include:
- Urging your school administrators, professors and community members to submit letters to the editor
- Urging your college campus newspaper to publish an editorial
- Urging your local community paper to publish an editorial
Tuition and Undocumented immigrants
For the last seven years, Undocumented immigrants attending California's public university and community college systems have been eligible for in-state tuition rates. The thinking behind this practice was that, regardless of their parents' actions, children had no choice in crossing the border illegally; academically gifted immigrant students shouldn't be condemned to a permanent underclass.
Last week, however, a state appellate court ruled that California was violating Congress' intention of barring Undocumented immigrants from a benefit reserved for legal residents. The decision sends a class-action lawsuit -- brought by out-of-state students who contend that they have been required to pay higher, nonresident fees while Undocumented immigrants pay in-state tuition -- back to Yolo County Superior Court. It also presages the end of higher-education opportunities for thousands of motivated students.
Congress' intent does seem clear. The Undocumented Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 reads, "An alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a state (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit."
California sought to skirt this law by granting in-state tuition to all students who graduated from and attended a California high school for at least three years.
Foes of Undocumented immigration, who argue that generous benefits encourage lawbreakers to come to California, will rejoice at the decision. And we acknowledge the inherent contradiction of providing a public benefit to students whose parents presumably don't pay any income tax to help pay for it.
Nonetheless, we believe that California's law is in the state's best interest. By law, states must provide K-12 education to Undocumented immigrants, and it's counterproductive to then erect roadblocks to further advancement for our best and brightest. Studies show that investing in education for immigrants pays off. Assuming they remain in California, their economic contributions more than make up for the cost of subsidized college tuition within a few years. Forcing them to wallow in permanent poverty, by contrast, is a drain on taxpayers -- as well as being flat-out immoral.
California is one of nine states providing in-state tuition to Undocumented immigrants, and given the absence of leadership from Washington, we don't fault any of them for attempting to address the educational, economic and social needs of the populations within their borders. The real problem is not the states' violation of congressional intent, but Congress' failure to follow the trail blazed by the states.
My Son ask me why 700 billions? there is a lot of money. he said. I said yes,There is a lot money. Could you Imagine that Money on your shoulders? He said no way is too heavy. Well, We as Taxpayers, our Kids, Grandchildrens are going to paid for this mess. So we must take action against those predators who make profit against the will of the taxpayers, consumers (Legal and Undocumented), Citizens and Non Citizens. The goverment can help and bail out corrupted corporations but not hard workers citizens and non Citizens who's loosing their houses, their Family dreams, their hopes and the hard work earning value. As a Goverment are we follow the Constitution: We the People or We the Corporate America? Who's to be blame and accountable for this mess?
Corey Stewart RESPONDS to questions and revelations if he has any association or Knowledge of the Anti Immigrants groups like Fair and Help Manassas as a extremists groups. The Immigration Resolution he championed as Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors was written by an lobbying firm classified as a Hate Group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Read here: FAIR
John Stirrup appointed Robert Duecaster, member of Click here: Help save Manassas and Click here: FAIR and author of the original resolution in (conjunction with Greg Letieq and John Stirrup), to the 2012 Strategic Plan’s Goal Task Force on Human Services. If you aren't familiar with PWC committees task forces, you should know that these are the people who recommend policy to the BOCS.
From the job description: INTRODUCTION Prince William County is in the midst of developing its fifth strategic plan.
Prince William County Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) has drafted four strategic goals for the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan. Those goals are: • Economic Development and Transportation • Education • Public Safety • Human Services Citizen committees can be invaluable to local government because they communicate public concerns and allow what should represent a community voice.
However, nowhere in the job description are there criteria for appointees. This means the people who are appointed have no background checks, have no ethical requirements, can have strong party affiliations, do not have to be objective, and are not required to represent the voices of all.
Robert Duecaster, in addition to writing letters to the Manassas Journal Messenger and Potomac News, posts on Black Velvet Bruce Li under the name "Advocator." Duecaster/Advocator also posts elsewhere on the Internet regularly. He speaks at Citizens' Time and uses rhetoric from hate groups. Some of the quotes come directly from Black Velvet Bruce Li; I am quite sure Greg L. the owner, will remove some of them. In addition, Mr. Duecaster strongly recommended children of anyone with immigration paperwork issues be denied public K-12 education. Per the U.S. Supreme Court, no child shall be denied a public education no matter what their citizenship. Duecaster does not see an issue with allowing children to roam the streets while school is in session. Please read the quotes below to understand the kind of person John Stirrup listens to, supports, and models. I warn you that these are offensive. Then, please write to your local government and ask that they revise requirements for committee appointments which have been called "gentlemen's agreements." Urge them to consider that hatred, advocating violence, and open discrimination has no place in our government.
Anti Muslim and Insulting Veterans
http://www.govexec.com/mailbagDetails.cfm?aid=38720 As a young officer that had to deal with the trash we accepted into the Armed Forces in the early ’70’s, I appreciate Mr. Wilson’s admonitions and thank him for raising the red flags by writing his book during that terrible period.A return to the draft, or any semblance of it is the wrong answer. Giving our leaders a blank check to use (or abuse) the greatest resource this country has to offer (our youth) is a prescription for another disaster. It was that unchecked power to use what was thought to be a cheap and unlimited resource that encouraged the recklessness in Vietnam in the first place. Our politicians should pay dearly for the use of our young people, and dollars seem to be the only entity that gets their attention. The one event that would trigger greater interest in young people joining the Armed Forces would be to correctly name the present struggle we are in. It is not a “Global War on Terrorism.” It’s a war against Islamic Facsism. Once the enemy is identified correctly, the patriots will respond.Robert L. Duecaster Posted December 5, 2007 9:41 AM.
Anti-Affirmative Action against Minorities
The doctrine of “affirmative action” or “diversity” is so lacking in merit that those who support it can only ascribe sinister and hateful motives to those of us who understand and point out its insidious and pervasive effects on our government and culture.
Anti-Catholic
Advocator said on 14 Apr 2008 at 10:34 am: What’s even more ironic is the fact that el Pape will be here bemoaning how some jurisdictions have “treated” the illegals. He’ll disregard the facts that we’ve educated their anchor babies, provided social services, indulged their vulgarities, cleaned up their trash, and provided them with a higher standard of living and more freedoms than their own countries used to give them. He’ll berate us for not embracing them wholeheartedly, for not allowing them access to our universities at the expense of our own children, and for not rewarding them for violating the sanctity of our borders. He’ll be pandering to them to gather members to replace those who left the Church due to the institutionalized approval of his priests’ penchant for little boys’ behinds. “What I find ironic is that the Pope will preach to us to accept the Illegal Invaders so that his church can replace its members who have left due to the incessant kiddie diddling of its priests.”
Anti-Muslim and Pro-Population Control
http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/22408 Submitted by Robert L. Duecaster (United States), May 25, 2005 at 11:16 The existence of a vaccine conspiracy theory points out one strategy of Islamists that explains why they are so sensitive an alleged effort to sterilize their progeny. They have always emphasized overpopulation and irresponsible procreation as a weapon in the Culture War…
Advocator said on 6 May 2008 at 3:46 pm:In reply to OHNO! [3:17 post]: Reasons for accounting: So we can bill the feds for educating them.So we can plan ESOL and remedial classes and teachers.So we can guestimate the no of immunizations we need to protect other kids who may not have immunity to the exotic germs brought in from other climes.So we know how much of our tax dollars are being spent on kids who really shouldn’t be here (even if they are innocent victims of their parents’ transgression). So legal residents can make a decision on whether or not they want to remain in a jurisdiction that has that expense. It may turn out that the number is so minimal and the expense so low that our time and effort would be better spent on other issues.
Hate-Speech Against Immigrants, Children in Schools, Pro-Population Control, Scapegoating
Posted by ( Advocator ) on June 02, 2008 at 4:40 pm We need to encourage more of the illegal invaders to leave our community so that we have the money to fund worthy programs like this. ESOL classes and emergency room anchor babies are sucking the lifeblood out of our County. “Do they not understand that one horrendous crime committed by an illegal is ONE too many? This is why we want them out of our communities and our country. The simple fact is we do not know which illegal alien is going to be the next to commit that crime. Advocator said on 30 Oct 2007 at 3:33 pm:Does anyone need anymore evidence to convince them that we are not facing just illegal immigration, we are facing an invasion? An invasion of parasites set on reducing this country to the levels of their own.http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2007/10/30/mexicans-without-borders-threatens-election-ploy/ Advocator said on 14 Apr 2008 at 9:15 pm:Well, Trufe, if indeed we’re headed for a cliff, I’d suggest the Illegal Invaders follow a simple economic principle: Last in, First out.An’ thass right, Trufe, I am bitching about ESOL classes. Those anchor babies be costing me money.
On MJM article on Slashed Adult Day Care Center,Advocating Slave Labor
GovernmentExecutive.com Advanced Search Feds to bypass laws to build border fenceBy Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press April 1, 2008 47776 We should gather the illegal aliens out of the jails in the country and have them build the fence prior to deporting them. Advocator Posted April 2, 2008 3:54 PM
Advocating Violence
The best we could do for the citizens of Mexico and for our own country would be to distribute hundreds of thousands of M-16 and AK-47 assault rifles to the campesinos so they could get rid of their corrupt leaders themselves. We should issue an assault rifle to every illegal alien we deport back to those cesspools of corruption.
Posted by: Advocator on November 21, 2007 11:04 AMBack to Home Page Buy guns and ammo during the hiatus Mando. They scare the $hit out of liberal politicians, fat broads, and illegal invaders
Commentary on PWC Schools, Anti-World-Culture, Ethnocentric
Advocator said on 25 Apr 2008 at 2:57 pm: These little diversions on diversity actually serve a very useful purpose. The astute student will ask himself, “If all these cultures are so great, why are all their adherents busting the doors down to get into this country?” The logical explanation is that all those cultures aren’t worth a Japanese nickel compared to the culture that’s developed in this country. http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2008/04/25/despite-budget-cuts-pwcps-can-still-afford-leftist-trubutes/
Advocator said on 19 Aug 2007 at 3:23 pm: While “Trac Ing” and a few others may be just liberal shills for the Zapperteesters masquerading on the blog as racists, the sentiments he/she expresses may well be those of many in the general population, due to the frustration they are experiencing in dealing with this issue. People are angry, and they are prone to direct that anger at the wrong targets - the illegal aliens themselves. As I’ve said before, the targets of your frustration and anger should be those politicians, at all levels, who have allowed this infestation to occur and fester. People like George Allen, recently sighted at the PWC fair testing the public trough to see if he might be allowed back at it to slurp again. People like Frank Wolf, who continues to dodge the problem and put more effort into the Lost Boys of Darfur than the lost neighborhoods of his district. Then there’s Jorge (spit) Bush and his horde of Tex-Mex mafia who profit from allowing open borders. I got a call recently to attend a Bob Fitz Simmonds’ fundraiser where Frank Ostrich, I mean Wolf, was the main attraction. As much as I wanted to attend, I told the polite young caller that I’d better not, as I didn’t think I’d be able to restrain myself from physically assaulting that traitor to the American people. It’s people like Wolf that deserve the full force of your anger, your frustration and your action. The illegals are as much as, if not more, victims of their tyrannical inaction as we citizens are. They should be run out of this country first, then we can start deporting the illegals. The federal politicians are not the only villains in this invasion. Since 2005, it’s been illegal in the state of Virginia to provide public benefits to illegal aliens. Do you think that law is followed in the counties in NoVA? Do you think any county supervisors have checked to see how (or if) their social services directors have implemented that law? These supervisors the folks responsible for the degradation of your neighborhoods, the proliferation of crime, the dumbing down of your schools, the wasting of your tax dollars. Call them names, not the illegals who are just taking advantage of the situation. Damn them to hell for all eternity for giving away what you, your parents, and all those who came before us built. And when you get the chance, vote them out of office, regardless of what party they claim affiliation. And when you see them in public, urinate on the sumbitches. http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2007/08/18/help-save-fairfax/
Pro-Violence and Extremism
Advocator said on 28 Jun 2007 at 12:28 pm: Dear Anit-Illegals: “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” –Barry Goldwater http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2007/06/27/stirrups-resolution-on-illegal-aliens/ The time for talking, writing, and pleading with our elected leaders to do the right thing on this issue is rapidly coming to an end.
Anti-Mart Nohe, BOCS Member and Anti-Woodbridge, Arlington, and Manassas Park Advocator said on 14 May 2008 at 1:29 pm:
Great quote, Ron, from my philosophical hero. I’ve got no sympathy at all for the liberals who elected Tejada. I’d like to ship the rest of our illegals there so they can pay for their health care, the schooling of their little darlings, the clogging of their traffic court, their translators, and all the rest of the social services and infrastructure they steal from legal, taxpaying residents.Incidentally, our very own little Marty Nohe jumped up last night at Guvnor Goober’s soiree in Hoodbridge and introduced himself and drooled all over the Goober’s plan to raise our taxes.http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2008/05/25/happy-memorial-day/ Advocator said on 14 Apr 2008 at 9:18 pm: By the way, Trufe. I’d be willing to sacrifice NYC, San Fran, LA, a large part of DC., Arlington, and Manassas Park
Anti-Senator Colgan, Elder References, References to All Saints Catholic Church
Che’ said on 17 Mar 2008 at 2:02 pm: For all you All Saints parishoners, I noticed that the Honorable Senator Colgan is back in town. He was the usher at 9:00 mass this past weekend. I suggest politely introducing yourself after church and asking him what happened with the legislation he sponsored. I am curious to see if he is planning on making changes so that the bill will not conflict with federal law, and reintroducing it next session.2. Advocator said on 17 Mar 2008 at 3:31 pm:Yeah, I saw the old man profiling around town in his silver Lincoln Town Car, license plate “1″ (as in “uno”). If you see him, flip him a single digit for me.http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2008/03/17/2153/
Conspiracy Theory Belief
Advocator said on 25 Feb 2008 at 10:54 am:I suspect that this “housing crisis” was planned. Governments at all levels are getting into buying up foreclosed upon houses, ostensibly to offer them to low income families. It’s one more way for the gummint to gain control of property, thus control the wealth, in this country.http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2008/02/25/manassas-park-you-dont-need-to-know/
Anti-Police Chief Deane
We have laws on the books that are perfectly adequate for addressing the day labor site issue. What we lack are a police chief and leaders with the will to enforce them. Advocator said on 30 Apr 2008 at 4:00 pm: Anon2 and Riley: That is exactly why I originally drafted the Resolution to provide that every police officer, in every stop of every person, would inquire into legal residence status. Such a policy would obviate the need for cameras, probable cause determinations, and all the rest of that black hole of litigation. Why it got changed, who changed it, and why are a big mystery that’s never been adequately explained.
Origin of the Immigratin Resolution From HSM's Frontline Newsletter by Maureen Wood, City Council Candidate
Well written, enforceable laws are among our most powerful weapons in the fight to reclaim our broken community. With assistance from the Immigration Reform Law Institute(IRLI), HSM is working diligently to influence our local governmental leaders to employ all the legal tools at their disposal in the fight tobring order out of the chaos brought upon us by illegal aliens. Recently, the HSM legislative committee, working with Supervisor Stirrup and the IRLI, helped craft the Prince William County ordinance addressing county services for illegals. Special thanks toHSM member Robert Duecaster for writing the initial draft. SupervisorStirrup used Duecaster’s draft todevelop the final resolution passed unanimously on July 10, 2007 bythe PW Board of County Supervisors. Duecaster also created an online petition, urging Governor Kaine to implement a statewide287(g) program (see link below).Much effort goes into researching issues, statistics and data. In future newsletters we will be sharing someof that research with you. If you have any questions, data to share,or if you would like to become involved with the legislative committee, please contact me. http://www.petitiononline.com/VA287g/petition.htmlReports from the Field PAGE 3A Fair to Remember
INTERVIEWER: "You voted for the construction of the wall between Mexico and the United States...
"JOHN MCCAIN: "I didn't vote for an...I am not sure what you are talking about, but we can secure...our borders with walls and/or fences in urban areas, and then virtual fences, vehicle barriers.
INTERVIEWER: "But, you did vote for the wall.
"MCCAIN: "I didn't vote for an...I don't know what you are exactly what you are referring to."--Interview with Univision, Sept. 15, 2008.
Trolling for the votes of Hispanic Americans, John McCain distanced himself this week from plans to build a 700-mile wall along sections of the 2,000 mile U.S.-Mexico border. He suggested that he preferred a "virtual" electronic wall, with actual physical fences only in urban areas. But that claim misrepresents his vote back in September 2006, when he helped pass the "Secure Fence Act."The FactsAs a leading proponent of immigration reform, the Arizona senator long took the view that action designed to stop the flow of illegal aliens into the country should be combined with offering a path to legal citizenship to those that were already here. But he changed his position in 2006 as he prepared for his presidential bid, and voted for a law that was focused almost exclusively on keeping illegal aliens out. The law stipulates that a large stretch of the new wall would be built in McCain's home state of Arizona.Most of the top presidential candidates, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, joined McCain in voting for the "Secure Fence Act," which passed the Senate by 80-19.Questioned by the Spanish language television station Univision about his support for the fence, McCain claimed that he did not know what the interviewer was talking about. But the language of the legislation is very clear. Section 3 of the Act orders the Department of Homeland Security to oversee the construction of "at least 2 layers of reinforced fencing, the installation of additional physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors" along five sections of the border, totaling 700 miles.In the meantime, the Obama campaign has also put out a television adaccusing McCain of "lying" to win Latino votes while supporting hardline Republican policies on immigration and other matters. The advertisement attempts to link McCain to the conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who appears on screen along with quotes like "Shut your mouth or get out."As several bloggers have pointed out, here and here, the Limbaugh quotes have been taken out of context. The attempt to link McCain to Limbaugh is also unfair, given the fact that the radio host has frequently criticized McCain, particularly on the issue of immigration reform.The Pinocchio TestBoth McCain and Obama have taken liberties with the truth in seeking the support of Hispanic-Americans, who are emerging as a crucial voting bloc in the presidential election. McCain had a politically convenient memory lapse in forgetting his vote for a physical wall along long sections of the Mexican border, while Obama incorrectly suggested that his rival shares Limbaugh's ideas on immigration.
While the USA is building walls alone the US-Mexico border, Latin America is now building diplomatic walls to keep the USA from meddlings in their internal affairs. It's a tit for tat situation. Just look at the expulsion of USA ambassadors and the hostile effects on others USA diplomats assigned to Latin America.The fact is clear, this will be a Hispanic century throughout the Americas. The fact remains that both the USA government and it's citizens are now some of the most hated of individuals throughout Latin America. Years of supporting Neo-fascists right wing governments and undermining civil and human rights in Latin America with obsolete weapons to keep the fascists in power is now coming to haunt the USA and it's entirety. The centuries old ignorance and arrogance the USA has for it's Western Hemisphere neighbors has added fuel to the distrust most Latin Americans have for the USA. China and Russia have now taken the lead in cultural exchanges, interactions, economic and trade in Latin America. It can now be said with certainty that the sun has set on the USA, not only throughout Latin America, but the rest of the civilized world. Pity. It's going to take a long time, perhaps hundreds of years, for the USA to be viewed or trusted throughout the Western Hemisphere. It's going to take much more than Obama (much less McCain) to change the hatred and mistrust Latin America has with the USA. The next ten-twenty years will tell the story.
Let's all contribute... we can't get ahead if only a part of the country is committed. Some think that the greatest generation has something to do with war. The greatest generation has everything to do with Americans of all ages, races, and genders coming together as one, in understanding that each one of us can and must make a difference, and most importantly in believing that the price for freedom is always worth it.
Mexico says it has arrested 12 people on terrorism charges in the years since the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S., but an official said none were linked to Muslim extremist groups like al-Qaida nor were any planning to strike in the United States.
Officials from both nations say there hasn't been any sign of the southern U.S. border becoming an entry point for terrorists, as had been feared after the suicide jetliner hijackings that struck New York and Washington.
The Mexican government revealed the 12 arrests to The Associated Press this week in response to a public information request seeking details of any terrorism arrests in the last seven years. The request was made in February.
Many Americans feared Islamic terrorists from al-Qaida might try to slip into the United States by linking up with the criminal gangs and drug cartels that control large swaths of Mexico and smuggle drugs and migrants across the border.
Months after the 2001 attack, President Bush pushed Mexico to increase security. "We need to use our technology to make sure that we weed out those who we don't want in our country, the terrorists, the 'coyotes,' the smugglers, those that prey on innocent life," he said.
Asked whether Mexico's 12 terrorism arrests were linked to plots against the United States, an official at the Mexican Attorney General's office said none "had anything to do with that."
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she wasn't authorized to be quoted by name, said those detained had links to Basque militants in Spain or were involved in radical domestic activities in Mexico.
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said Friday the U.S. continually works with Mexico to ensure terrorists don't turn to Mexico and so far there is no evidence that has happened.
"There's no indication that there's been a direct al-Qaida presence in Mexico," he said. "But there certainly have been individuals that present security concerns."
He wouldn't elaborate, but one of the U.S. government's recent worries has been smuggling networks moving East African migrants through Latin America and into the U.S. Two such smugglers operating in Mexico and Belize were arrested last year.
In a speech Wednesday on international terrorism threats, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the biggest threat in Mexico is likely the powerful drug trade, in which gangs target both police and civilians and often behead their enemies.
"These enterprises may currently be criminal enterprises, but we cannot rule out the possibility in the future that they may take on a more political coloration," he said.
The U.S. has dramatically increased border security, adding fencing and border agents and monitoring more closely those who cross at border stations.
Mexico also has become much more vigilant of foreigners entering both legally and illegally.
Many people from Muslim countries now have trouble getting visas to visit Mexico, and officials have arrested dozens of Christian Iraqis who fled violence in their homeland and tried to sneak into Southern California through Mexico.
Thomas Sanderson, deputy director of the transnational threats project at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said al-Qaida usually sends its members through Europe because, unlike Mexico, citizens of those countries can enter U.S. territory without a visa.
"We are more likely to see people come in through airplanes," he said.
He also doubts al-Qaida operatives would expose themselves to organized crime or smuggling groups in Mexico. "They'd be concerned that their cover or their effort would be exposed. It's unfamiliar territory for them," he said.
Pressed to discuss the 12 peopled arrested, the Mexican official would say only that five were Spaniards linked to the Basque separatist group ETA and that seven were Mexicans detained in domestic cases.
She said the purported ETA members were living in Mexico to help finance the group's operations in the Basque region of northern Spain and were not planning attacks.
The official said some of the seven Mexican suspects were tied to murky domestic militant groups that have planted crude bombs at banks, government offices and oil pipelines across Mexico in recent years.
None of those attacks caused human casualties but several of the pipeline attacks had a big financial impact by interrupting fuel supplies to major industries.
Latinos in the U.S. are increasingly Upset about their situation and disapprove of aggressive immigration enforcement policies of the Bush administration -- findings that could have implications for the presidential election -- a new survey shows. Nearly 10% of Latinos said they had been stopped by police or other authorities and asked about their immigration status in the last year, including 8% of Latinos born in the U.S.
Nearly 15% said it had been hard to find or keep a job because they were Latino, and 10% said the same thing about finding or keeping housing. And 57% of Latinos worry that they or a friend or family member will be deported, up from 53% last year. Half of those surveyed by the Pew Hispanic Center said the situation for Latinos in the U.S. was worse now than a year ago. In last year’s survey, a third took that view.
"There is a significant deterioration in the mood of Hispanics," said Susan Minushkin, deputy director of the center, a nonpartisan research group. Unhappiness among Latinos could have consequences for the presidential election, particularly for Republican John McCain, who is striving in ads and speeches for an immigrant-friendly image.
The Pew survey found that 66% of Latino registered voters backed Barack Obama and 23% supported McCain, results reported earlier. Those levels mark a swing back to traditional levels of Latino support for Democratic presidential candidates after a groundswell of support for President Bush. Bush drew 40% of Latino voters in 2004, an unprecedented showing for a Republican candidate.
Latinos comprise 8% of U.S. voters, but a larger proportion in some key swing states, said Mark Hugo Lopez, associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center: 35% in New Mexico, 14% in Florida and about 12% of voters in Nevada and Colorado. Pew researchers found that the issue of immigration was playing a more important role for Latinos in this presidential election year than in 2004. Thirty-four percent of Latinos said the issue was extremely important, up from 28% in 2004. Almost half of Latinos said the Democratic Party had more concern for immigrants, whereas 7% said that of the Republican Party. When Pew researchers asked Latino registered voters which candidate was better for immigrants, 50% chose Obama, 12% McCain.
McCain wrote a 2006 bill with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) that would have given most illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. McCain distanced himself from that view in 2007, when he began campaigning for president. He has since said he would not vote for the bill.
The Pew survey found widespread disapproval among U.S.- and foreign-born Latinos for immigration enforcement methods such as workplace raids and criminal prosecution of illegal immigrants.
Diplomatic Security Investigation Results in 112,Suspects Charged with Federal Passport Fraud
The Investigation Resulted in the Seizure of $650,000 and the Recovery of 80 Fraudulently Issued United States Passports.
The individuals charged included fugitives, military deserters, delinquent taxpayers, parolees, convicted felons, sex-offenders, habitual drunk drivers from over 20 countries. All wanted U.S. passports for the purpose of hiding from law enforcement authorities. Many of the individuals charged resided and worked in their deceased identities for decades, and in many cases their neighbors, employers, spouses and children never knew them by their true names.
Between July 2005 and August 2008, 112 individuals were charged with federal passport fraud and related offenses around the country. The government also seized three firearms, $650,000 in cash, one Mercedes automobile, and over 80 of the fraudulently obtained United States passports.
During their investigation, Diplomatic Security and FBI agents cross-matched computerized government death records with Department of State passport records. This process identified individuals who fraudulently applied for, and obtained, United States passports using birth certificates of deceased Americans. Continue reading here: FBI
Democrat Presidential Candidate Barack Obama responding to The Sanctuary's questionnaire on immigration reform and other issues of concern to Latino voters has long passed without any word from the McCain campaign. But without Senator McCain's responses for comparison, for the time being we release Senator Obama's survey without commentary, to let his words speak for themselves. Continue reading here at The Sanctuary:
For close to 15 years, Phoenix New Times has reported on Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's serious abuse of power. The self-described "Toughest Sheriff in America" was once Arizona's most popular politician. But his popularity is plummeting, as the public finally takes note — after reelecting him three times — of horrendous jail conditions, reckless police operations, racial profiling, clearly violation of Human and Civil Rights against Latinos specially Mexicans and personal vendettas against political rivals.
A believe the addition of the first Latina/o to the Supreme Court could have significant impacts for the greater Latina/o community, as well as to the Court and the nation as a whole. Importantly, a Latina/o would likely bring new and different experiences and perspectives to the Supreme Court and its decision-making process. A review of one decision helps demonstrate this point.
In United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, the Supreme Court stated that Border Patrol officers on roving patrols could consider the race of the occupant of an automobile in making an immigration stop. In the Court's words, "[t]he likelihood that any given person of Mexican ancestry is an alien is high enough to make Mexican appearance a relevant factor" in the decision to stop a vehicle. Through this pronouncement, the Court ruled that what amounted to race profiling in immigration enforcement was constitutional. The Court authorized the Border Patrol to rely on "Mexican appearance" even if no individual, much less one who "appears Mexican," has been specifically identified as having violated the immigration laws. Such reliance is premised on the perceived statistical probability that persons of "Mexican appearance" are undocumented immigrants. Ordinary Fourth Amendment and Equal Protection principles, however, generally prohibit use of race in this way by law enforcement. Rather, the Constitution usually requires individualized suspicion, not raw statistical probabilities, to justify a police stop.
A Latina/o Justice might well approach the reliance on race and physical appearance in immigration stops in a wholly different way than the Supreme Court did in Brignoni-Ponce. Latina/os are likely to appreciate the detrimental consequences of race profiling in immigration enforcement, which subjects innocent persons lawfully in the country to stops and interrogations largely because of their physical appearance. As a direct result of the Supreme Court's endorsement of reliance on "Mexican appearance," immigration enforcement regularly burdens Latina/o citizens and lawful immigrants of many different national origin ancestries. Such indignities seriously undermine the sense of belonging of Latina/os to U.S. society.
Moreover, a Latina/o would more likely understand why "Mexican appearance" is a deeply flawed criterion on which to base an immigration stop. He or she might well ask logical questions about Brignoni-Ponce including but not limited to the following:
What is "Mexican appearance?" Physical appearances among Latina/os run the gamut from light to dark skin, black to blond hair, brown to blue eyes. The Border Patrol, however, apparently relies on stereotypical "Mexican appearance," dark skin, black hair, brown eyes, indigenous features, often with a socioeconomic class overlay, when in fact persons of Mexican ancestry possess many different physical appearances.
Should the Border Patrol be afforded the broad discretion to question one's citizenship governed by "standards" such as "Mexican appearance?" Because "Mexican appearance" is vague and based on gross stereotypes of undocumented immigrants, how could Border Patrol officers, even ones acting in good faith, be expected to objectively apply this "standard?"
Aren't most of the people in the United States with a stereotypical "Mexican" or "Hispanic" appearance lawfully in the country? Although the vast majority (ninety five percent or more) of the Latina/os in the United States are citizens and lawful immigrants, they may be subject to stops, particularly in the border region if not the entire Southwest, because of nothing other than their physical appearance and a Border Patrol officer's hunch that he or she is undocumented.
Doesn't allowing the Border Patrol to consider "Mexican appearance" in making an immigration stop stigmatize citizens and lawful residents of Latina/o descent who fit the stereotype? Doesn't this limit their claim to full membership in the national community?
Because of personal experiences, as well as an appreciation of the diversities of the Latina/o community in the United States, a Latina/o is more likely than an Anglo to be troubled by the reasoning of Brignoni-Ponce.
Moreover, she or he may well have personal experience with race profiling in immigration enforcement.
For example, the Border Patrol on numerous occasions has stopped Federal District Court Judge Filemon Vela, as well as other Latina/o judges in South Texas, for questioning about his immigration status. Border Patrol officers once told Judge Vela that he was stopped because he had too many passengers in his new sports utility vehicle; another time, he was informed that the tinted windows on his automobile--quite common in warm climates--led to the decision to stop him. Similarly, the Border Patrol repeatedly pulled over Eddie Cortez, former mayor of a Los Angeles suburb, well over a hundred miles from the border.
Nor is the assumption that Latina/os are immigrants limited to the Southwest. A U.S. Capitol police officer stopped Luis Gutierrez, a member of the U.S. Congress of Puerto Rican ancestry, on the way to his congressional office and flippantly told Gutierrez that he "'and [his] people should go back to the country [they] came from."' Such experiences, analogous to those of Thurgood Marshall with respect to racial discrimination, almost inevitably would shape one's thinking about immigration enforcement and, more generally, the reliance on alleged group propensities in law enforcement.
Based on personal experience, a Latina/o Justice is likely to understand the fallacy of "Mexican appearance" and appreciate that Latina/os come in all shapes, sizes, and appearances, not just the stereotypical ones. Latina/os also generally know that many non-Latina/o U.S. citizens assume that Latina/os-- native born in this country or not--are "foreigners," and treat them as outsiders to the national community. This assumption, as seen in Brignoni-Ponce, may affect analysis of immigration and immigration enforcement issues deeply impacting Latina/os.
Importantly, a Latina/o on the Supreme Court might well bring a unique perspective to bear on the analysis of substantive bodies of law in which issues of race arise more subtly than in immigration law. Although facially neutral, and therefore presumably lawful, English-only laws can be employed to attack Latina/os or, at a minimum, adversely affect the Latina/o community. For example, in Hernandez v. New York, the Court held that a prosecutor could constitutionally use peremptory challenges to strike Spanish-speaking jurors in a criminal case that required the translation of Spanish into English; with all Spanish-speakers excluded, a Latina/o defendant was denied a jury that included any Latina/os.
A Latina/o also might look differently than others at various civil rights issues, including those implicated by criminal law enforcement. The recent growth of Latina/o civil rights scholarship demonstrates that Latina/os have civil rights concerns different and apart from those of other racial minorities. For this reason, it should not be surprising that the experiences of Latina/os on the state and federal bench arguably have influenced their legal analysis.
In essence, the Supreme Court has lacked a Latina/o voice and perspective. To this point, for example, no Supreme Court Justice has emphasized for Latina/os, as Justice Marshall consistently did for African Americans, the long history of segregation and discrimination against Mexican Americans in the Southwest or the racism directed at Puerto Ricans on and off the island. Such deficiencies are more likely to be remedied by a Latina/o Justice than one of any other background.
Moreover, perhaps most importantly, the appointment of a Latina/o to the Supreme Court would signal a movement toward full membership for Latina/os in American social life, just as Thurgood Marshall's appointment signaled for African Americans. The naming of a Latina/o Justice in and of itself would symbolize the growing inclusion of Latina/os in the respectable mainstream, rather than simply the entertainment industry. Such a development would be particularly important to Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans, two Latina/o national origin sub-groups that historically have been denied access to the highest echelons of U.S. society.
Unfortunately, messages of Latina/o exclusion in the legal profession run rampant. Few Latina/os can be found on the state and federal bench. Only a handful have served as a law clerk to a Supreme Court Justice, a prestigious credential held by many of the nation's leading attorneys and judges. Severely under-represented in elite corporate law firms, Latina/os comprise only about 140 of all law professors in the United States. The traditional paths to the Court thus have been unavailable to Latina/os. The first Latina/o Justice could not help but to encourage the fuller integration of the legal profession and send a powerful message that Latina/os in fact must be treated as full members of U.S. society.
In this vein, appointment of a Latina/o to the Supreme Court would go far to make "visible" the relatively "invisible" Latina/o community in the United States. Public attention to the nomination itself would direct attention to the growing Latina/o national presence. The questioning of a Latina/o nominee by Senators in confirmation hearings would likely highlight Latina/o civil rights concerns. Such a high visibility platform might well have a lasting impact on the national consciousness
I Started this blog because the frustration, confrontation and division creating by xenophobics against minorities. Some have eyes but cannot see," "Some have tongues but cannot speak the truth. They have ears but can't hear. That's where the problem is." It will be some controversial issues but true hurts. This is a Non-Profit Blog . Humanity is priceless
Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.
The greatest threat facing America today is not terrorism, or foreign economic competition, or immigration. The greatest threat facing America today is the disastrous fiscal policies of our own government, marked by shameless deficit spending and Federal Reserve currency devaluation.
In my fight for Equal Justice
I am not a Republican
-I am not a Democrat
-I am not an Independent
-I am an Mexican American.
And refuse to fall for false reassurances and the tempting comforts of ignorance,
To contribute my voice in outrage, when others are forced into silence,
To speak the truth as I find it.
